QR code menus when you travel: what you need and what to check
The scan itself needs no connection, because the phone's camera reads the code on its own. What the code holds is usually a web address, so opening the menu, and above all paying through it, needs data or the restaurant's Wi-Fi. Before you tap, read the address the phone shows you: that is your best defence against a fake code.
Calculate your dataBehind the square there is just a link
A QR code on a table is a printed web address. Your phone turns it into a link, and the menu that opens is a web page or a PDF hosted somewhere else. That is why a menu can fail to load in a basement restaurant with no signal even though the camera recognised the code instantly.
You have two ways to open it: your own mobile data or the restaurant's Wi-Fi, which often comes with a password on a card or a login page. For something as short as reading a menu, either works. If you join the restaurant's network, the usual precautions for shared networks apply, which our guide on whether public Wi-Fi is safe when travelling sums up.
A menu page is a small thing next to maps or video calls. If you want a rough idea of what a whole trip uses, the data calculator adds it up by activity.
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Will it work on my phone?
On iPhone: Settings → General → About, and scroll to EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Every iPhone from the XS (2018) onwards does.
On Android: Settings → About phone → Status, and look for EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Most Galaxy S20, Pixel 3 and later do.
It also has to be carrier-unlocked. If you bought it outright or your contract is over, it almost certainly is.
Not sure about your model? Ask us before you pay and we will tell you — a person answers within 24 hours.
How it works
- 1Choose and payCard, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No account.
- 2Install it at homeThe QR arrives by email. Scan it on wifi in a minute.
- 3Connect when you landTurn on data roaming for the eSIM and you are online.
Scanning without installing anything
On iPhone, Apple's steps are to open Camera, stay in Photo mode, frame the code and tap the link that appears at the bottom of the screen. There is also a Scan Code control you can add to Control Center, and Apple suggests tapping the flashlight if the table is dark.
On a Pixel, Google describes three routes: the Scan QR code tile in Quick Settings, which you may need to add with the pencil icon; the Camera app with the Camera scan suggestions setting turned on, under Settings and More settings; or Google Lens. Other Android phones usually have a scanner in the camera or in Quick Settings too, with names that vary by manufacturer.
No separate QR app is needed, and it is better not to install one from an advert at the table.
The sticker over the real code
- Check that the code is not a sticker placed over the original QR.
- Turn on, or look at, the preview of the address before you open it.
- Be suspicious if the address does not belong to the business or service.
- If in doubt, never give personal or bank details.
- Be wary if the code asks you to download a file, especially an .apk.
These five checks are INCIBE's, Spain's national cybersecurity institute, in a case where a QR code led to an unwanted subscription. They apply anywhere a QR is stuck in a public place: tables, parking meters, posters. The iPhone shows the address on screen before you tap it, so reading it costs nothing. If something looks off, ask the staff for the paper menu or the address.
Paying the bill from your phone
Some restaurants let you pay at the table by scanning a code that opens a payment page. That is an online card payment, so it needs a connection, and it may ask you to confirm in your bank's app or with a code by text. Our guide to bank SMS codes abroad explains why those texts reach your usual line and not a data-only eSIM.
Because you are typing card details into a page, this is the moment to apply INCIBE's checks with most care: the address should belong to the restaurant or a payment service it uses. If you prefer not to, ask for the card terminal. Tapping your card or phone on the reader does not need mobile data at all.
When the menu is in a language you do not read
A web menu has an advantage over a printed one: it is text, so your browser can usually translate it. A PDF or a photo of a menu is different, and needs a camera or image translation instead.
Translation tools work best with the language already on the phone. Our guide to downloading offline translations covers how to save the languages you need before the trip, so a printed menu or a sign does not depend on your data.
With a data-only eSIM such as Snoozim's, the menu, the translation and the payment page all run on the same connection, and your phone number stays on your usual SIM for calls and texts.
Do I need data to scan a QR code menu?
Not to scan it. The camera reads the code offline, but opening the menu it links to needs mobile data or the restaurant's Wi-Fi.
Do I need an app to scan QR codes?
No. iPhone scans from the Camera app, and Pixel phones have a Scan QR code tile in Quick Settings, the camera and Google Lens.
How do I know if a QR code is fake?
Check it is not a sticker over another code, read the address before opening it and be suspicious if it does not belong to the business.
Is it safe to pay the bill through a QR code?
Only if the page clearly belongs to the restaurant or its payment service. If in doubt, pay at the card terminal instead.
Get your eSIM before you fly: the QR arrives by email in minutes and the plan only starts when you connect at your destination.
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